Hybrid peer-to-peer data communication and management

• US 20070094325A1
• Filed: 10/21/2005
• Published: 04/26/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Mucleoid Corp.
• Original Assignee: Nucleoid Corporation
• Inventors: Gaw, Derek, Ih, Ronald, Chung, Sung Hwan, Sumerlin, William
• Application Number:
  US11/255,624
• Publication Number:
  US 20070094325A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/12 involving interaction between a plurality of game devices, e.g. transmisison or distribution systems protocols for networked virtual reality, networked games H04L29/06034
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/352 involving special game server arrangements, e.g. regional servers connected to a national server or a plurality of servers managing partitions of the game world
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/358 Adapting the game course according to the network or server load, e.g. for reducing latency due to different connection speeds between clients
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/534 for network load management, e.g. bandwidth optimization, latency reduction
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5533 using program state or machine event data, e.g. server keeps track of the state of multiple players on in a multiple player game
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0677 Localisation of faults
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0896 Bandwidth or capacity management, i.e. automatically increasing or decreasing capacities flow or congestion control using dynamic resource allocation, e.g. in-call renegotiation, H04L47/76
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1008 based on parameters of servers, e.g. available memory or workload monitoring of computer activity G06F11/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1017 based on a round robin mechanism
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1019 Random or heuristic server selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1021 based on client or server locations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1091 Interfacing with client-server systems or between P2P systems

Abstract

Hybrid peer-to-peer data communication and management is described, including querying a plurality of elements in an environment for state data, the state data describes a state of the environment and an activity occurring in the environment, receiving the state data from one or more of the plurality of elements in response to the querying, analyzing the state data to determine an environmental change, the updated state data is generated describing the environmental change, and using the updated state data to modify the environment by dynamically allocating the plurality of elements to process a simulation, the plurality of elements being dynamically allocated based on available processing capacity provided by the plurality of elements.

Claims

1. A method for state management, comprising:

querying a plurality of elements in an environment for state data, wherein the state data describes a state of the environment and an activity occurring in the environment;

receiving the state data from one or more of the plurality of elements in response to the querying;

analyzing the state data to determine an environmental change, wherein updated state data is generated describing the environmental change; and

using the updated state data to modify the environment by dynamically allocating the plurality of elements to process a simulation, the plurality of elements being dynamically allocated based on available processing capacity provided by the plurality of elements.

2. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of elements are dynamically allocated by adjusting the plurality of elements to provide one of the plurality of elements to process the simulation for the environmental change.

3. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of elements are dynamically allocated by clustering the plurality of elements based on a proximity to the activity.

4. The method recited in claim 3, wherein the proximity is a physical proximity.

5. The method recited in claim 3, wherein the proximity is a virtual proximity.

6. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the environment is a game environment.

7. The method recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of elements is a client.

8. The method recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of elements is a server.

9. The method recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of elements is a game server.

10. The method recited in claim 1, wherein using the updated state data further includes mapping the environment based on dynamically allocating the plurality of elements.

11. The method recited in claim 1, wherein using the updated state data further includes dynamically allocating the plurality of elements to process a simulation associated with the activity and the environment.

12. The method recited in claim 1, wherein using the updated state data further includes performing a simulation at one or more of the plurality of elements.

13. The method recited in claim 1, wherein using the updated state data further comprises sending an update to one or more of the plurality of elements, the update being configured to minimize data transmission to the environment.

14. The method recited in claim 1, wherein using the updated state data further comprises sending an update to one or more of the plurality of elements, the update being configured to minimize data transmission.

15. The method recited in claim 1, wherein using the updated state data further comprises sending an update associated with the state to one or more of the plurality of elements, the update describing an event in the environment.

16. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the updated state data describes an event.

17. A method for data communication, comprising:

gathering state data from an environment, the state data being associated with a state of the environment and a plurality of elements;

determining a location of an event in the environment, the location being described by the state data;

using the state data to establish a data communication path in the environment, wherein the data communication path is determined based on evaluating the state data, the location, and the event;

detecting a change to the data communication path; and

updating the environment and the data communication path by dynamically creating an alternate data communication path between the plurality of elements based on the change, the alternate data communication path being configured to route data among the plurality of elements, wherein each of the plurality of elements disposed along the data communication path has information associated with the alternate data communication path.

18. The method recited in claim 17, wherein the event is a physical event.

19. The method recited in claim 17, wherein the event is a virtual event.

20. The method recited in claim 17, wherein the data communication path is established between one of the plurality of elements and another of the plurality of elements

21. The method recited in claim 17, wherein one of the plurality of elements is a client.

22. The method recited in claim 17, wherein one of the plurality of elements is a server.

23. The method recited in claim 17, wherein the data communication path is determined by analyzing the state data.

24. A system for state management, comprising:

a local server configured to query a plurality of elements in an environment for state data, wherein the state data describes a state of the environment and an activity occurring in the environment, to receive the state data from one or more of the plurality of elements in response to the querying, to analyze the state data to determine an environmental change, wherein updated state data is generated describing the environmental change, and to use the updated state data to modify the environment by dynamically allocating the plurality of elements to process a simulation, the plurality of elements being dynamically allocated based on available processing capacity provided by the plurality of elements; and

a client in data communication with the local server and a node, the client being used to interact with the environment, wherein the state data and the updated state data are exchanged between the client, the node, and the local server to manage the environment.

25. The system recited in claim 24, wherein the node is a server.

26. The system recited in claim 24, wherein the node is a local server.

27. The system recited in claim 24, wherein the node is another client.

28. A system for data communication, comprising:

a local server configured to gather state data from an environment, the state data being associated with a state of the environment and a plurality of elements, to determine a location of an event in the environment, the location being described by the state data, to use the state data to establish a data communication path in the environment, wherein the data communication path is determined based on evaluating the state data, the location, and the event, to detect a change to the data communication path, and to update the environment and the data communication path by dynamically creating an alternate data communication path between the plurality of elements based on the change, the alternate data communication path being configured to route data among the plurality of elements, wherein each of the plurality of elements disposed along the data communication path has information associated with the alternate data communication path; and

a client in data communication with the local server and a node, the client being used to interact with the environment, wherein the state data is exchanged between the client, the node, and the local server to manage the environment.

29. A system for managing a game environment, comprising:

a client configured to provide the game environment established using a game state;

a physics engine configured to perform a function that generates information associated with the game state;

a server having;

a database management system configured to manage one or more state machines, each of the one or more state machines being configured to determine a substate of the game state;

a load balancing engine configured to manage data communication between the server and the client and the physics engine, wherein the server, the client, and the physics engine are dynamically allocated based on activity generated in the game environment; and

a map associated with the game environment, wherein the map is used to allocate the client and the server to process a simulation in the game environment using the information associated with the game state, wherein the client and the server are allocated based on the activity.

30. A computer program product for state management, the computer program product being embodied in a computer readable medium and comprising computer instructions for:

querying a plurality of elements in an environment for state data, wherein the state data describes a state of the environment and an activity occurring in the environment;

receiving the state data from one or more of the plurality of elements in response to the querying;

analyzing the state data to determine an environmental change, wherein updated state data is generated describing the environmental change; and

using the updated state data to modify the environment by dynamically allocating the plurality of elements to process a simulation, the plurality of elements being dynamically allocated based on available processing capacity provided by the plurality of elements.

31. A computer program product for data communication, the computer program product being embodied in a computer readable medium and comprising computer instructions for:

gathering state data from an environment, the state data being associated with a state of the environment and a plurality of elements;

determining a location of an event in the environment, the location being described by the state data;

using the state data to establish a data communication path in the environment, wherein the data communication path is determined based on evaluating the state data, the location, and the event;

detecting a change to the data communication path; and

updating the environment and the data communication path by dynamically creating an alternate data communication path between the plurality of elements based on the change, the alternate data communication path being configured to route data among the plurality of elements, wherein each of the plurality of elements disposed along the data communication path has information associated with the alternate data communication path.